Essential Phone preorders to start shipping in 7 days

That new Essential Phone you’ve been eagerly awaiting? Essential has promised preorders will start shipping within a week.

The announcement, sent today via email to customers who’ve preordered the device, promises the device will ship within seven days after payment is received.

It’s been a rocky road for the Essential PH-1, as it’s officially known, with the company missing its original shipping target. Essential announced on May 30 it would ship within 30 days, but by July, there was still no phone in sight. The company updated customers in late July promising it would arrive “in a few weeks.”

But while it’s a crowded market for phones, this isn’t just any old Android device. The Essential PH-1 is the brainchild of Andy Rubin, former Google exec and father of the Android software that now runs on 2 billion active devices around the world.

The phone certainly has high-end looks to match its Android cred — thin bezels wrapping around a 5.7-inch display as well as magnetic modules, like a 360-degree camera, that snap on to the device.

At $700 (which translates to £550 or AU$940, though Essential is currently only shipping to addresses in the United States), the Essential PH-1 has a price tag to match its high-end looks, setting you back roughly the same amount as the iPhone 7 or the Samsung Galaxy S8.

And now, with a release just around the corner, we’ll be able to see how it stacks up against its heavyweight rivals.

Tech Culture: From film and television to social media and games, here’s your place for the lighter side of tech.

Essential Phone preorders to start shipping in 7 days

That new Essential Phone you’ve been eagerly awaiting? Essential has promised preorders will start shipping within a week.

The announcement, sent today via email to customers who’ve preordered the device, promises the device will ship within seven days after payment is received.

It’s been a rocky road for the Essential PH-1, as it’s officially known, with the company missing its original shipping target. Essential announced on May 30 it would ship within 30 days, but by July, there was still no phone in sight. The company updated customers in late July promising it would arrive “in a few weeks.”

But while it’s a crowded market for phones, this isn’t just any old Android device. The Essential PH-1 is the brainchild of Andy Rubin, former Google exec and father of the Android software that now runs on 2 billion active devices around the world.

The phone certainly has high-end looks to match its Android cred — thin bezels wrapping around a 5.7-inch display as well as magnetic modules, like a 360-degree camera, that snap on to the device.

At $700 (which translates to £550 or AU$940, though Essential is currently only shipping to addresses in the United States), the Essential PH-1 has a price tag to match its high-end looks, setting you back roughly the same amount as the iPhone 7 or the Samsung Galaxy S8.

And now, with a release just around the corner, we’ll be able to see how it stacks up against its heavyweight rivals.

Tech Culture: From film and television to social media and games, here’s your place for the lighter side of tech.